This is based on the lesson plan at http://www.microsoft.com/education/crossword.mspx. Originally, I would link students directly to this lesson but I found that some of the instructions were confusing to students who were not familiar with Excel:
Students had a difficult time using the Format Painter tool. They kept inadvertently turning it off so the cells would not get formatted and it was frustrating for them.
Students found it easier to visualize and to find the boxes that needed the clue numbers if they built the grid of the crossword first.
Using Text Boxes instead of merging cells to write the clues was easier for the students and allowed for more formatting of the text, however, I have left this as merging of cells since merged cells can be uploaded to Google Docs but text boxes do not upload.
Based on the above, I changed some of the instructions and used a technology related puzzle as an example. To use this lesson, I print out copies of the following PDF file for each student and they use it to build the sample puzzle in Excel. Also, included in the instructions are links to some online sites where you can build and print your own crossword puzzles.
Creating Crossword Puzzles using Microsoft Excel
This is based on the lesson plan at http://www.microsoft.com/education/crossword.mspx. Originally, I would link students directly to this lesson but I found that some of the instructions were confusing to students who were not familiar with Excel:
Based on the above, I changed some of the instructions and used a technology related puzzle as an example. To use this lesson, I print out copies of the following PDF file for each student and they use it to build the sample puzzle in Excel. Also, included in the instructions are links to some online sites where you can build and print your own crossword puzzles.